The Red Bull Ring in Spielberg is not an easy track due to its stop-and-go character, but Darryn Binder coped well with the 4.35 km long, idyllic, albeit challenging track right from the start of the eleventh race weekend. Despite fierce competition, the South African lined up in the top 10 in ninth position in free practice already.

Things went similarly well for the 26-year-old in the qualifying sessions, where he again finished in ninth place and thus punched his ticket for Q2. On Saturday afternoon, the time chase came to a head, so that the 1’34.323 of the rider with the starting number 15 in twelfth place was only 0.468s behind pole setter Celestino Vietti. From the fourth row of the grid, Darryn already has his sights set on the top 10 and will try to make up ground early on in the 23-lap race on his Kalex.

Darryn Binder
P12 – 1’34.323 (+0.468)

“Overall, I’m pretty happy with today. I had a strong Practice 2 this morning, in which I made it straight into Q2. In the afternoon, however, the conditions were much hotter than in the morning. I felt good but struggled to put a lap together. Unfortunately, I made a few mistakes and ended up crashing in turn two. But I was able to pick up the bike and still finish the session. I’ll start from P12 on the grid tomorrow, but I’m very positive about the race because we’ve had good speed all weekend and the fourth row is not the worst position this year, so let’s see what we can achieve tomorrow.”